Talismans of Time, Redux
by ZenoTheManager
Summary: 3 years after the world was threatened by the powerful Dark Element, time will once again be threatened by a new, mysterious force known only as Chaos. Heroes will rise an fall, in search of the Talismans of Time. This is a reduxed version of an old fanfic, found by simply typing talismans of time. This is simply a passion project, as the fanfiction has since been discontinued.
1. Home

Hello all welcome to 'Talisman's of Time' Redux version. This is a Redux of an original fanfiction by Gamerctm (he's on both here and deviantart) however I have decided to pick it up and create a Redux (a word which here means brought back or revived.) Of course I have revived this once before, but the state of it was not very good, so here I go, one more time. Enjoy

Chapter 1: Home

Beginnings. Beginnings are always the hardest to talk about, the hardest to envision, even harder to have. People go through their whole lives trying to conceal their beginnings, their pasts, their mistakes. Harder than even that however, is when the very past you held dear is torn from out of your brain. As was the case with a man by the name of Alexander Zeno. Thrown to another world, living memory by memory hoping to find some rhyme or reason for it, but being left empty handed all the same.

Of course, however, the past has a way of returning to even those who try to lose it, or even for those who had it taken from them.

"Artemis...Artemis." A man, whose voice could be best described as deep yet high pitched at the same time, cried out. He felt pain, emotionally and mentally. His body was beaten and bruised, and his mind and soul felt as if it were the same way. He couldn't see very much, as he eyes seemed to have been burned by some form of high intensity light source, however his tears still flowed down his face as he curled up into a ball. He looked to be clutching an object, a simple black band that looked to be cracked into many tiny pieces.

His clothes, as well, looked to be suffering a similar fate. Long rips, cuts, and even some burn marks peppered the entire outfit, which was comprised of a simple tight black shirt, black cargo pants, and a pair of black boots. His shirt looked to have taken the most damage out of all however, showing off various cuts and bruises on his torso. While he was bleeding slightly, it looked as if he was slowly healing, but not fast enough to stop the bleeding completely just yet.

"Artemis...no please...don't leave me." The man said in a broken voice, as more tears flowed down his closed eyes.

A simple passerby might have questioned this display, finding him insane, crazy, maybe even delirious. They would also be right to think in that way, as that was sure how he looked. However, where he was, there didn't seem to be a single passerby, not a single person, not a single chirping bird. It was night where he was, a dark night at that, with clouds covering any form of light the heavens could offer.

Pain. Pain was the life that Alexander Zeno, the man curled up on the ground, knew. Pain had become a part of his life from an early age, and had stuck with him since then. Loss after loss, even while winning, loss followed him.

He opened his eyes, for the first time in what felt to him as forever, and he could finally see, his eyes healed after what had happened.

"W-Where am I?" He questioned softly, his voice sounding weak and full of pain. He uncurled himself and slowly rose from the ground, his clothing revealing his bruised and battered frame. He glanced at the sky first, noticing the clouds that had covered the heavens, then turned his gaze to the immediate place around him. He looked to be in some sort of city, futuristic yet medieval at the same time. This all felt familiar to him for some reason, yet alien at the same time.

Dark and brooding blue seemed to be the theme of this city, from the very stone that made up the building to the very lighting of the place. He then turned his gaze away from the city and instead towards the pieces of the metal band in his hand. A pang of guilt and sadness hit his heart like a truck, pulling his mood down even further.

"I'm so sorry Artemis, I failed you." He spoke softly, collecting the pieces into his hand then putting it into one of the pockets. He then looked up, down the street, and saw what looked to be a large castle, and for some reason it-

"Alexander, you understand...we must." A voice echoes through his head. He glanced around thinking it was someone, but not seeing a single soul.

"Who is-" Alexander muttered as he continued glancing around.

"You do not understand my Alex... As hard as it is, you must endure...forget us." The voice spoke softly, yet full of pain, once again.

Pain.

Once again pain filled his being, it was as if this voice was hurting his very soul, for reasons he didn't know. Why was this happening to him? Who was it that was speaking? Why did he feel such pain for them?

He pushed the thoughts out of his head, he didn't have time to focus on those things. He had to figure out where he was above everything, to do that, he thought his best course of action would be the castle. He dear friend Artemis was gone, the band was his only contact with her, and he sure hoped her consciousness had made it to the other pieces of the armor. If it hadn't...she was as good as gone.

He then made the effort to take a step forward, that's all he could do after all. There was no sense in looking back, was there? He shook his head once again and focused on the castle, steeling his emotions and his nerves as he approached the main gates of the castle. As he reached the two large gates, he also noticed two large guards with extremely sharp weapons, and just as tough armor to go along with it. He couldn't see the features of these two guards however, he wasn't really concerned about that.

"Identify yourself." The guard on the left said, gripping the hilt of his sword, the other guard did the same, but didn't say a single word. Alexander then began to rub the ring on his right hand with his thumb.

"Whoa now you two, let's not get so testy, I'm just a simple guy looking for some simple answers." Alexander spoke putting both of his hands up slightly to show that he wasn't armed. The two guards looked over him in detail, then relaxed themselves a little bit.

"Ask your questions then hurry on out of here." The guard on the right spoke in a much deeper voice than his companion on the left. The hairs on Alexander's arms stood up after hearing his voice, it slightly reminded him of someone he truly didn't like.

"Well I know this might sound like an odd question, but I have absolutely no clue where I am. If you two could just tell me where I am then…" He spoke, letting his voice trail off as he looked to the two guards, indicating they should speak.

"Are you daft? You are in the Raybrandt capital city, just outside the castle." The guard on the left said shaking his head. Once again, a sense of familiarity struck Alexanders brain. This kingdom, Raybrandt, it all sounded too familiar...but why?

"Raybrandt…" He muttered as he looked down.

Alexander Zeno was nothing close to normal, one would be able to blatantly see this by looking at his hair and eyes. They took on a bright yellow color, his eyes even glowing to add to his unusualness. Even if he were placed in a group of magicians, demihumans, or regular humans, he would definitely stand out from the crowd. Being that this was one of his most defining traits, one could logically assume that he found himself in a number of odd situation, a number of odd places in which he knew nothing of the world around him.

This however, to him, was a much different scene.

It was as if a sheer fog had been places around this world, the fog representing familiarity, but familiarity with absolutely no answers whatsoever. From the grass, to the castle, to the name Raybrandt, all of this felt too familiar. However, how could a street kid from New York, who had never journeyed to any land such as this one, find familiarity in a setting such as this? These were all questions he thought to himself as he pondered the name Raybrandt.

He had been to futuristic worlds, worlds such as his own, and worlds filled with war, but never one such as this. The only way he could think to describe this place was a fantasy world, but yet somewhat futuristic at the same time. This was certainly odd, but again the familiarity struck him hard.

"Are you going to say anything kid, or are you just going to stand there looking stupid!" The guard on the right questioned loudly, definitely irritated. Alexander was pulled from his thoughts, and turned his attention back to the guards.

"Sorry, sorry, I'm a fool as I'm sure your well aware." He apologized, as he glanced down at his clothing. His wounds had all but healed, but his clothing still showed the damage of his light fight. The fight that had claimed his- No he mustn't think that way now, his job was to survive, to get out of this without dying. That's what she would have wanted.

"You are, what do you think your doing here anyways, you look like you're from Palm Brinks." The guard on the left scoffed as he shook his head. Once again, the feeling of familiarity filled his emotions.

"Yeah that shithole. Wonder why Princess Monica decided she needed to go there, seems stupid to go to that monster infested place." The guard on the right agreed, shaking his head. Alexander's expression suddenly changed completely, he felt a pang in his heart.

Princess Monica, he recognized that name, he felt emotions for that name. But why? He couldn't identify the reason at all. To his knowledge, he hadn't met anyone named Monica. For a moment, he stayed still, trying to find within him why this was happening, but after that moment...he had made up his mind.

"Where's Palm Brinks?" He questioned, looking at the guards, determination blatant on his face. Out of all the names to mention, Monica was the one that confused him the most. He felt that if he found this woman, he might be able to get some answers as to why he felt this familiarity.

For you see, Alexander had been to a number of places. Universes, times, memories. All of which, were not involved with him. All of which were not as hard to decipher. All of which held no emotional investment to him. He knew he was here for a reason, all of these places he had traveled to had a reason, usually made abundantly clear from the very moment he arrived there.

But this was much different. There was no quick battle he had to fight before moving onto the next one. There was no conversation he needed to have, only to whisked away once again so quickly.

All of this felt different to him, felt new but yet also old at the same time. This felt as if it were some sort of finale to whatever his purpose for traveling was, as of course his travels were not by choice. He felt the hand of the person sending him to these places lift from his soul. This sequence of events was all up to him now.

And he was damn sure to do the right thing this time.

Activating Teaser Log…

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Log Ready, do you wish to view?

"Yes." A voice spoke from darkness.

Log date, 2017, August.

_Drop your head in wonder into the next chapter as Zinex makes it to the TOURNAMENT OF POWER and sees someone he never thought he'd see, sarcasm meeting sarcasm, and other things you won't believe in the next chapter of 'Talisman's of Time'..._

_When the Past Returns!_

"When the Past Returns...How fitting." The voice spoke once again, laughing ever so slightly. "Though I believe the name Zinex is out of date, he hasn't used that name in quite some time. Nonetheless, I shall await your arrival Alexander."


	2. When the Past Returns

Palm Brinks. A glory for human civilization back when it was in its hay day, however now, it had turned into a cesspool from monsters, thieves, and all manner of horrible people. Alexander, who had just made it to the outside of the city, looked upon it with a sense of pain in his heart.

"Well this city certainly went to shit." He muttered as his eyes scanned it. There had seemed to be a once large wall surrounding the perimeter of the city, but that wall had since been torn down in multiple places, leaving the wrecked and messy havor weak to the world around it. The buildings looked uncared for, being that some roofs were falling off, some buildings were just collapsed. However, the thing that caught Alexander's eyes the most was not the walls, the houses, or even the monsters that walked the cracked cobblestone streets. His interest was in where the monsters were actually going, which seemed to be a huge Colosseum in the middle of the city.

It was a huge structure, looking like it was crafted from perfectly cut rock and stone, though it was hard for Alexander to see this detail from so far away. As he continued to stare at the structure however, it became obvious that this was a major event that was happening tonight.

"If that's where the action is, I can only assume this Monica girl will be there." Alex spoke softly as he stood up from the small hill he was leaning on, beginning to walk towards the outskirts of the city. Why was he searching for this girl? It was obvious in Alex's head why he was searching for her, simply because it was his only direction.

What more could a lost traveler do than to latch on to one familiar thing and go for it. Nothing. At least that was the conclusion Alexander had come to in his head.

He quickly entered the city, and surprisingly he wasn't absolutely mauled to death by the sheer number of monsters that seemed to be heading towards the Colosseum. To the monsters however, Alexander fit in quite well. His clothes torn and in tatters, his hair sticking up all over the place, and dried blood caking parts of his skin. He wasn't all that different in appearance, and for once, he was happy about that.

He followed the crowd of monsters, knowing that if he was going to get any answers as to exactly where he was, and exactly why he recognized these places ever so slightly, the Colosseum was going to hold those answers.

"Oh look, a human." A monster, who was a snake, spoke in a slightly creepy tongue. The monster slithered in front of him, stopping him from progressing. "Looking forrrr tickettssss to the Tournament of Powerrr?"

"Conveniently yeah I am." Alexander spoke, looking the monster up and down. He began to use his thumb to spin the ring on his right ring finger.

"You are luckkyy boy, I have three ticketssss left. 100,000 Gildasss each." The monster said in a twisted grin. Alexander recognized that name as well, which he didn't like at all. It was obviously money, but he had absolutely none.

"Sorry to say, but I'm broke." Alexander shrugged as he looked at the tickets the monster held in its hand. He could easily grab those tickets, using his power, and get out before the monster knew where he went. However, he knew that would be stupid. A yellow haired human like him would stand out like a sore thumb, even in the crowded stands of the Tournament.

"Then it appearsss you would have to be a fighter to get in." The snake monster chuckled as it slithered past him, laughing to itself as it went to bother other people.

"What a dick." Alex shook his head as he neared the Colosseum. It was obvious that he wasn't going to be able to get into the stands without doing things to draw unusual attention to himself, so he knew there was only one option.

Draw usual attention to himself.

"Names Cain, Cain Leohart." He confident voice spoke extremely loudly from a few feet away. Alex glanced over and noticed that there was a desk just before the main entrance to the tournament. He noticed the speaker was a fairly well built teen, wearing a torn green shirt, blue pants, and dark brown boots. He also had brownish blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He seemed to be doing a pose while flexing his muscles, which he had a moderate amount of.

"How old are you? You look 14 or 15, legal fightin age is 16 kid." A ram monster spoke as rolled its eyes. Cain's face immediately turned into a scowl as he looked at the Ram, ditching his pose.

"I'm 17 I'll have you know, legal fighting age. Can't you tell by my huge muscles?" He said flexing once more. The Ram, who was literally three times bigger than Cain, and shook his head.

"Whatever Cain Leohart, be careful in there." The Ram spoke as if he were signing Cain's death warrant.

"Haha yeah, that's what I'm talkin about." Cain said pumping his right fist into the hair and walking down a small path to the right of the entrance, which seemed to lead to yet another entrance, around the side of the Colosseum. Alexander immediately took this as the perfect opportunity to walk up to the Ram, who currently had no people surrounding him.

"Name." The Ram said in a bored tone as he didn't even look up from the large amount of paperwork on his desk.

"Alexander Zeno." He said as he leaned on the desk. The Ram looked up as he said his name and sighed deeply.

"Another human wanting to get themselves killed? I thought you were all supposed to be smarter than this." The Ram said in an actually intelligent tone.

"And I thought all monsters were supposed to be stupid killing machines, not paperwork pushers." Alex shot back, making the Ram look up and laugh loudly.

"You got a decent point there kid. I'd love to be out there, tearing you to shreds, but there are going to be plenty of other monsters who'll do that for me." The Ram spoke, sounding like he was semi-serious. He then stamped another piece of paperwork, and wrote Alexander's name down. "Be safe in there kid."

"No promises." Alex muttered with a smile as he followed the same path that the guy before him, Cain, had taken. Alex eventually, after walking some distance, reached a small entrance where a number of fighters were entering. Each of them were dressed in some sort of armor, carrying some sort of weapons.

"Another human? You and that other one are foolish to come here unarmed." A large ogre with a club spoke in a voice that shook the very ground Alex was walking on. Alex glanced at the ogre, who was at least 4 times the size of the guy, with a look of pure amusement.

"Not everything is how it seems pea brain." Alex said, this was his favorite thing. This was his element. Fighting and banter was something that he absolutely enjoyed doing.

"What did you just say!" The ogre bellowed as they entered a locker room, big enough to support even the ogre's huge size. Flanking the ogre was now what looked to be a giant rat and a clown like person, with his clothes torn in multiple places.

"You best know yah place human." The rat then spat at Alex, who simply stood in front of them, wiping the spit off of his face. He then chuckled slightly, pointing his fist down towards the ground and holding it up as if he were holding a weapon.

"Maybe you shouldn't underestimate me so easily." He said, then a black blade appeared in his hand. It was a simple design: black blade, black hilt, and black grip. The only semblance of design on the whole thing was at the very bottom of the blade, where the name 'Zinex' was engraved. The black, which was only about 3 and a half feet long, didn't quite reach the neck of the ogre, but it was enough to take him off guard.

"You got little magic tricks eh?" The ogre said, not backing down at all after overcoming his surprise. "That ain't gonna do you no favors once this ere tournament starts, and I hope to get a nice fight with you."

"It's a date." Alex grinned, his sword disappearing, and his arms opening wide. In terms of confidence, this fighter had quite a lot of it. In his mind, however, his confidence stemmed from the fact that he had nothing left to lose. His dear friend Artemis was gone, his life had since been left behind long ago, and the only thing he had was a name of some princess and himself.

Speaking of the aforementioned princess, this said princess was in this very Colosseum, however, while Alex was making enemies, she was making herself as small and negligible as possible in the stands of the tournament.

"I don't like this place at all." Monica Raybrandt spoke, wrapping a long coat around herself, trying to make sure she couldn't be recognized nor spotted. She glanced over to her companion, a boy by the name of Maximillian, who also looked very uncomfortable being in a place surrounded by this sheer number of cheering, roaring, and disgusting monsters. Max wore an outfit similar to that of a handyman, simple brown overalls and simple brown boots. He was aged about 16, but he didn't look his age at all. He was quite muscular, which was only natural for a boy who spent his time working hard labor.

"Me neither, all these monsters, they look like ones we've… fought." Max spoke softly as he glanced around the packed stands. He was amazed they had been able to get tickets right in the front row with the amount of popularity this tournament seemed to have. However, being that this was future Palm Brinks, his home in the future, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart seeing what it had come to.

"It's horrible." Monica said in a soft, yet sad voice, as she sat back in the uncomfortable seat. Monica was nearing the age of 20, the age in which she would inherit the Raybrandt throne after her fathers passing 3 long years ago. "But we can't risk making my presence known, I have a feeling I wouldn't be too welcomed here. Not to mention…"

"Griffon…" Max muttered, finishing her thought as an odd person walked into the middle of the battlefield that stood before them. It was a man wearing a pinstripe suit, with skin that was oddly yellow, though he looked more or less human. He had messy hair, and eyes as red as blood itself, which sent chills down both Max and Monica's spines. He seemed to walk with a sort of purpose, speeding his way into the center of the battlefield, then smiling broadly as he looked at the crowd.

"Welcome to the 30th annual Tournament of Power!" The announcer shouted into his microphone revving the crowd up. "That's right folks! 30 grand years of monsters glory, and blood! First off! As always, you know we must lay some ground rules! The tournament committee will not be responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen items within the Colosseum walls. As well as the committee will not be responsible for any deaths caused by badly aimed blasts, rest in peace the three who were killed last year."

"Did he say deaths from badly aimed blasts?" Max questioned, worry evident within his voice. Monica pulled her black coat further around her as she leaned further down the chair.

"I'm beginning to think we chose the worst seats." She said as she kept her eyes locked on the battlefield.

"But without further ado, we have a great show for you. Blood, Gore, Death. All the things you all love right in one place. NOW! THE FIGHTERS OF THE 30th ANNUAL TOURNAMENT OF POWER!" The announcer yelled as he outstretched a hand towards a large doorway, which looked like it could fit even a full sized giant. Immediately, a bunch of mixed monsters began running out from the doorway raising their arms as the crowd began roaring and cheering. Almost 40 or 50 monsters ran out from the doorway, giving Max an extreme case of goosebumps.

They were all quite armed, and they all looked quite dangerous. He noticed that these monsters looked to be from all over the continent, looking to be the best of the best. The one that caught Max's eyes the most though was a large dragon that seemed to enter first. He wore giant black armor, with the designs of skull embroidered on the armor itself, along with a spear the size of Max. His most dominant feature was his odd coloring. He had deep red skin but ocean blue wings which contrasted very oddly. His expression was smug, as he looked out into the crowd.

The last two to enter however, were not monsters, but rather two humans. Immediately the crowd began to boo at the two of them as they walked semi-near each other. These two were Cain Leohart and Alexander Zeno, who had just met each other only seconds ago.

Cain was holding his arms up in a cocky way, smiling at the crowd as if he were being cheered on. Alexander though was scanning the crowd, looking through the thousands that must have taken the seats, there was absolutely no way he would be able to pick out a human with all these monsters moving and cheering, he would have to wait until things settled down.

"Now as you all know...there are only 8 brackets for this tournament. That means only 8 of you will compete for the title. But since the champion is automatically in the fight, that leaves 7 spots. The only way to figure out who will take these spots is simple, a BATTLE ROYALE! The last 7 left standing will advance to the bracket rounds!" The announced yelled in excitement, turning the boo's into roaring cheers.

"Monica, those two humans-" Max started to say as he glanced at Monica, but she seemed a bit more focused on the battlefield than even he was. She looked to be squinting as she sat up, trying to get a closer look at something. "What is it Monica?"

"N-Nothing, I must be imagining things." Monica muttered leaning back in her seat, looking slightly disturbed and confused. Max couldn't help but question this in his head, but he knew all too well that she wasn't going to tell him much of anything unless she wanted to, and it clearly looked like she didn't want to. "Neither of those two humans strike me as normal at all. I'm not sure why but they...they…"

"Seem suspicious? Do you think one of them is connecting to the dark element?" Max questioned as he looked at the two human, who were standing somewhat away from each other. Cain was still raising his arms to the crowd, winking at various women and grinning broadly. Oddly enough, as Max looked to the other human, he noticed that he seemed to be doing something similar.

Max was taken aback by the odd color of his hair and eyes, never before seeing anything like it. Max had his suspicions about that person specifically, as he seemed so out of place in the crowd of those monsters, even if he was a human. He felt that something about the way he stood, the way he seemed to carry himself, was completely off.

"Now the fighters have been gathered, our gracious champion Garr will take his place in the seat of honor, and I will join next to him." The announcer said as the crowd kept cheering. The champion and the announcer then walked back towards the entrance that all the fighters had come through, and a small platform raised them towards the stands, where a huge seat, the size of a Garr, and a smaller seat sat empty. The two seats were away from the monster crowd, surrounded by various monsters that wore pinstripe suits, keeping the normal monsters from the general area.

"Never thought I'd see that." Alexander muttered to himself as he turned his gaze back towards the battlefield. It seemed every one of the 30-40 monsters were getting ready. Checking their weapons, armor, and gear. He looked at the other human, who had interested him greatly, and he seemed to be standing at one of the walls of the battlefield, trying to talk to a 20 year old girl who was sitting in the stands.

"You're mah first target human." A familiar voice growled at Alex. He turned and saw the ogre that had bugged him before, flanked by his two lackies he had met earlier. Alex laughed slightly, summoning his sword from the small ring on his right hand.

"Oh I'm sure I will be." He said, looking over his sword, then turning back to the ogre. "And I certainly hoped you would."

"NOW FIGHTERS!" The announcer bellowed into the microphone, getting the attention of everyone in the battlefield, and in the stands. "Get to your places!"

"Humans first, eh?" A skeleton warrior questioned to a group of monsters who were walking by Alex, they all roared laughing and nodded their heads.

"Death to humans." They all said as everyone took position in a circle on the edge of the battlefield.

"This is gonna be difficult." Alex muttered as he glanced around at the monsters. He hadn't expected to be in this situation earlier today, in fact he hadn't even been on this world earlier today.

Max felt the same way as well. Earlier today he hadn't even been in this time period, in fact he had been working in Cedric's, his mentors, shop. Monica had come to him so suddenly, three years after their adventure together. He remembered how relieved he had felt to see her again, and he remembered how much he had missed her. But as he had been told time and time again, people should stay in the time they were meant to be in, a fact that Alexander Zeno would come to realize.

"LET THE BATTLE ROYALE BEGIN!" The announcer bellowed, and thus, the Tournament of Power begun.

Teaser log access code accepted, welcome.

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August-2017

_Cain: hey there beautiful ladies, I know your reading this-_

_Zinex: Shut up Cain no one wants to hear your horny advances. Anyway In the next chapter you're going to see things like, random energy blasts, character really seeing each other-_

_Cain: Oh he's just talkin' bout his dearest-_

_Zinex: Shut up Cain before I throw you back into those egypt percy jackson rip offs._

_Cain: hey wait a minute that's not the same Cain._

"Interesting, very interesting." A voice, cast in darkness, said as the voice memo played. "Again, the name Zinex...Its importance seems to have been lost, though I feel it will soon find itself once again. Cain, oh Cain, how I await the two of you meeting this time. Though, under these circumstances, there are much more interesting meetings to anticipate."

The figure, clouded in darkness, then stood up and reached his arm towards the device that sat upon a dimly lit table. The arm that grabbed the device was covered in a black glove, as well as a black cloth coat, though the arm looked to be quite large.

"I suppose we shall find out soon in this Tournament of Power." The voice muttered.

Next chapter: Tournament of Power


	3. Tournament of Power

"LET THE BATTLE ROYALE BEGIN!" The announcer boomed, echoing his voice across the whole battlefield, as well as the stands.

Thus erupting a battle like nothing Alexander had seen before.

"Die human, DIE!" The monster directly to his right bellowed loudly, this was the good friend he had made when first entering the locker room area. The ogre swung his club, which was probably the size of Alexander.

"Seriously?" Alex muttered as he ducked down, avoiding the swing as if it were moving at the speed of a snail. From behind however, the armored rat that had appeared next to the ogre in the locker room, launched his attack. A knife came flying its way into Alex's left shoulder, sticking in place as he grunted in pain. "You all just don't fight very nicely do you?"

"Our only goal is to kill you human." The ogre growled as it regained its balance then swung again at the injured Alexander, who hadn't pulled the knife from out of his back, but rather was holding it in place as he predicted the ogre's swing. He jumped back, turning around, and ripped the knife from out of his shoulder, ignoring the pain, then slashing the cheek of the rat.

"Then I'll keep a similar goal!" Alex shouted as the rat launched a headbutt at him. He quickly ducked a bit, throwing his arm up and trying to gut the rat. The rat however jumped back, avoiding the knife. Glancing to his right, Alexander figured out why, the ogre had launched its next strike. "Shit."

"DIE!" The ogre yelled as it increased the speed on its slice. Alexander quickled raised his right hand up, dropping the knife. It seemed as if Alexander were doomed as the club approached him. He had no time to move, no time to dodge, but he did have one thing.

"Gottem." Alexander muttered with a grin on his face. The sword he had shown to the ogre appeared in his hand, the club immediately colliding with it. Normally, one would assume a short sword colliding with a human sized club would end in absolute horror for the sword and its user, however, much to the surprise of the ogre, that was not what happened. The moment the club collided with the pure black sword, a loud booming noise echoed through the battlefield. Cracks then spiderwebbed all over the club, shattering it into a million pieces.

"What did you-" The ogre started the question but Alexander just laughed.

"Used your own strength against you, now…" He muttered as he stood up, the wound on his shoulder slowly closing up.

"Not possible!" The ogre yelled as it shot its huge hands out at Alex, attempting to crush him, but Alex quickly rolled out of the way, barely avoiding not only the ogre's hands, but the knife that the rat had in its grasp.

"Oh no its completely possible." Alex chided, his sword disappearing, replaced by a ring on his right finger. He held his fists up as he back into the stands, which had monsters booing and yelling at him. They all wanted to see him die, to see him torn apart by the ogre and the human sized rat. "Why does it always end up like this."

Then Alexander did what the monsters viewed as utterly impossible, for a human that is.

He held his arms out, and instantly they lit up with lightning as yellow as the sun, shining across the dark battlefield, lit only by torches. His eyes, where just the irises were slightly glowing before, were now shining yellow, sending lightning sparking around his face. To an outsider, they may have viewed this as a show of power, but in truth, it was a show of weakness.

Alexander was having trouble controlling his power, due to the fact he was running very, very low on energy. Of course, he would never had admitted this to anyone, especially considering the fact this was one of the only two aces up his sleeve. As the monsters stopped he held his hands out, glaring at the two monsters who both had extremely worried looks on their faces.

"Bye bye cunts." Alex spoke softly, then two lightning bolts tore out from his arms, one for each monster running at him. Without a single second passing, the lightning bolts collided with each of the monsters. The rat, who hadn't even had time to blink, was immediately launched back into a monster that was fighting behind it, immediately killed. The ogre however, with its thick skin and broad build, was simply thrown back, tumbling like a ball until he landed face down in the dirt, growling and muttering curses.

This immediately got the attention of both Max and Monica, who were in the stands watching the fight as closely as they possibly could.

"Wait did he just use lightning?" Monica asked, completely flabbergasted as she leaned up in her chair, taking care not to let the hood that hovered her head fall off.

"Yeah he did." Max muttered as he looked at Alex, who had fallen to his knees, his sword once again in his hands, but this time keeping him from falling to the ground. "Wait I didn't think that-"

"BLADES OF LIGHT!" Another voice yelled from the other side of the battlefield. Max and Monica both turned their gaze towards the source, and saw the form of Cain Leoheart, surrounded by six large blades, made completely of glowing black light. It looked as if the large number of monsters had worked out an unspoken plan to rid the two humans who had dared to enter into their Tournament.

This however, did not work out to them.

"Too easy!" Cain shouted loudly as the blades then flew towards six separate targets surrounding him, each one nearly perfectly hitting their mark. Of the six monsters that he attacked, one was left standing, a Gyumo, who was already charging towards him. With a smile of pure cockiness, Cain bent his body down and wisps of darkness began to surround his hands.

"Look at his hands, the darkness." Max quickly pointed out, feeling his heart beat faster as the Gyumo approached Cain.

"This must be…" She spoke as she too watched Cain's hands, and the darkness that began to surround them. The crowd however, was roaring and cheering, absolutely wanting the Gyumo to do nothing more than tear this insignificant human to the fibers of flesh that he was.

"GOODBYE UGLY!" Cain roared as he positioned his hands at the perfect spot to catch the Gyumo's horns, that it was attempting to use to pierce Cain. A loud crack was heard as his hands met the horns however, as it was the sound of the horns snapping right off of the Gyumo's head. Then a sickening sound of the monsters cry filled the stadium as Cain, with the horns now in his hands, used the speed that the Gyumo had built up, to shove its horns directly into its brain.

Thus the Gyumo stopped dead in its tracks.

"Thats right yah stupid ass monsters, gang up on me huh? Don't you know I'm the hottest shit around here?" Cain laughed as he turned to a few ladies that were in the stands. "And if anyone wants my contact info, we can go make some memories in my bedroom tonight too."

"Go away!" The monster ladies yelled back at him, throwing their trash at him, but he just dodged it with ease.

"Oh come on, you know you want me." Cain laughed, spreading his arms wide then winking at them.

However bad one would think Cain's advances were, things for Alexander Zeno were absolutely worse.

The ogre that he had blasted away with his minimal power had finally regained his consciousness and was getting up off of the dirt floor, anger filling his expression.

"CRAG, MORYA!" He bellowed, as he picked up a battle axe one of the other fighters must have lost. It was a bit small for his frame, but he wasn't concerned about balance now, he was only concerned with decimating the human that had dared to make a fool of him.

"Yes Wrasus!" A female ogre named Morya spoke joining his side. She was no where near his height, though was definitely more muscular than he was. She looked to be carrying a sword, made of a pure red metal.

"Wheres Crag?" Wrasus questioned loudly as he glared in the direction of Alexander, who was still on his knees breathing extremely heavily.

"Dead, killed by that boy Cain over there, I've never seen a fighter like him, not even Garth-" She started to say, but Wrasus just growled in anger as he began to near the yellow haired human. Alex glanced up slightly, hearing the loud footsteps of the Ogre begin to approach him. Scanning the battlefield, he knew that the battle royale was nearing its close, there didn't seem to be that many monsters left, maybe only about 14 still stood.

"You're approaching me?" Alex spoke softly, no where near loud enough for the ogre to hear. Alex then forced his muscles to move, completely ignoring the fatigue and pain that filled his weak body. He still had one ace up his sleeve, one thing left that he could do, there was no way he was going to allow himself to die here.

"You rise human, good, meet your death." The ogre growled as he got within 10 feet of Alex, pulling the axe back, ready to slice Alex's body into two. Alex didn't say a single word and instead just looked up at the ogre, with a twinkle in his eye.

Then suddenly everything stopped. The crowd. The ogre. The announcer. Cain's unwanted sexual advances. Everything.

The only thing that remained moving was the heavy breathes that Alex was taking, for this was the final ace up his sleeve.

"I'm probably going to regret this later." He muttered to himself as he slowly walked away from the original position he had been standing, walking towards the left of the ogre. He glanced at his face as he walked by, the pure rage evident in the monsters eyes. His companion as well looked to be angry, in fact almost every monster in the stands looked angry too.

And by that point, everything had been stopped for five seconds.

"Now just pulled back…" Alex muttered as he took a stance just to the right of the ogre, pulling his sword pure black sword back. For a few seconds, absolutely nothing moved, and then everything came rushing back. The sounds tore at Alex's eardrums, still not prepared after the pure silence. He however, knew he had to push through it, and he swung his sword just as everything started.

The ogre moved forward, his neck moving directly into Alex's swinging blade, and his head came clean off. A terrifying screech came from Morya as she watched Wrasus tumbled to the ground, his body landing first, shaking the ground, then his head following several feet away. Blood spurted from the body, coating Alex and Morya in red as neither one of them made a movement.

"Aaaaaaand the great Ogre goes down! Who knew a human could take down such a beast!" The announcer cooed from the stands, as the crowd booed, stomping their feet and shaking the entire stadium.

"Monica, that guy just teleported." Max said as he watched in horror as Alex and Morya looked over the body that lay before them. He felt a sickness enter his stomach. Even after the adventure that he and Monica had taken, through all the monsters they had to defeat, through all the battles, he still was never one for gore.

"No...No..that was something different. That felt like...That felt like the Atlamelia." Monica spoke as she racked her brain for answers. So many questions flew through her head.

"What do you mean it felt different? I didn't feel anything." Max asked as he looked at Monica, whose face was contorted in thought.

"My father taught me a lot about magic before…" Monica said, her voice catching. She quickly sighed and gathered her thoughts together. "He taught me how to read magic patterns, the atlamelia gave a sort of feeling every time we used them, however he did what he did, it felt something like that."

"So now we have two people who could be the Dark Element...but which one is it?" Max sighed in agitation. Everything had happened so suddenly this time around, just as it had last time. Max had simply just been living his normal, simple life, working for Cedric just as he loved to do. However, Monica had reappeared to him three years after their adventures, extremely worried about something. He had later learned, through Monica's quick explanations, that Madame Crest had warned of a dark force rising once again. The Dark Element. Max had immediately agreed to help, after all how could he turn down another adventure with Monica.

However, they had both changed, and Max could see that immediately. Monica seemed a lot more distant than she had before, a lot more stressed. He thought maybe it had something to do with the Raybrandt kingdom he knew so little about, but he wasn't rude enough to ask outright. He hoped that through this adventure though, that she would open up a bit more.

"We are going to need to keep watching, we can't afford to make a mistake when we have the element of surprise." Monica said, leaning back in her chair and tightening the hood around her head.

Elsewhere.

"Y-You killed him." An angry voice growled, directed at Alex, who stood before the large body of the ogre he had just brutally beheaded.() This was the voice of Morya, whose husband Alexander had just killed. Alex looked up at the woman, wiping the blood away from his eyes and mouth.

"I'm sorry." Alex said with a voice full of remorse, but that didn't seem to be anywhere near enough to stop Morya from lifting her large red greatsword up, anger filling her eyes. Alex however, didn't move a muscle, his sword still at his side, scraping the ground. The truth was, he was in no shape to continue to fight, he needed some time to rest, as he had just been on the go for who knows how long. What he did know is he had finally reached his limit.

Luckily for him, however, he was saved by the bell. Just as Morya swung her sword, a loud snap was heard across the whole stadium.

"Aaaaaaaaaand that brings our battle royale to a close." The announcer cooed, every fighter being stopped in their tracks, surrounded by a weird yellow light. Many of the fighters tried to fight against the light, but they were unsuccessful.

"Ay lemme out you shitlord!" Cain's loud voice yelled from the opposite side of the battlefield, but the light didn't budge at all.

"Now our 8 fighters have risen from their lowly places, showing their true determination to win." The announcer said loudly, getting a roaring applause from the crowd, despite the fact that humans had somehow made it to the next round. "Next, we will move onto the bracket round! Where two fighters will go head to head, for the chance to fight our gracious champion! GARTH!"

The crowd once again roared in applause as the fighters calmed down from the battle.

"Now we will hold a 30 minute break, so that our fighters can get a refresh, so they can continue beating each other to bloody pieces!" The announcer yelled as the yellow light forced each of the fighters into the doorway which lead to the locker room.

"We have a chance here, Max." Monica said quickly looking to Max, who seemed a bit confused.

"What do you mean?" Max asked quickly as all the fighters disappeared. Monica quickly dug into one of her coat pockets and pulled out the beast monster badge.

"Remember these, well I can turn into one of the monsters and infiltrate and spy on that yellow haired guy." Monica said, her voice rising in determination.

"Right, and I can take the other guy, his ego seems to be pretty high, so I should be able to disguise myself as a fan." Max agreed, closing his fist and smiling towards Monica. For once, they finally had a plan. They were going to figure this out, and stop the Dark Element before he could even make his move.

_Error, Log data could not be found for the searched section. Data has been corrupted._

_Please try again later._


	4. When Worlds Collide

A horrible smell, followed by ear piercing growls filled Max's sense as he crept below the stadiums metal seats. His mission was to spy on Cain, the arrogant and cocky fighter who seemed to want nothing more than to get in some girls pants. Max shook his head as he crouched down, trying his best to be silent as he reached the side of the stadium seats where the fighters had entered from, and just as he had thought, there was a small door on his left, probably to gain access to this area.

"Score." Max said pumping his fist, then opening the door. To his luck, it was unlocked completely. "Now there is the hard part, blending in."

He looked into the doorway and saw a very large locker room filled with monsters that smelled like absolute death, and seemed to be talking obnoxiously loud. Max was on a bit of a higher level than the large locker room, being that he had entered this place in a way a worker might, there was scaffolding spanning the entire locker room ceiling, just close enough that he was a good distance from the monsters, but not too high that he couldn't walk. Luckily for him, the lights seemed to be very dim in the locker room, so he doubted any monster would be able to recognize him from this distance up.

"An den da human told me, you are noting, I will spear you into notingness. What does he ever mean by dis? We are more powafool." A monster said just below him as he walked out on scaffolding, taking care not to step to heavy or loud. He didn't dare bring out any of his weapons, for they were both much too loud and bright for him not to be spotted, he had to rely completely on the fact that no one was paying attention.

"Humans are dumb." Another monster said just below him. He glanced down and saw two, very buff, rams talking to each other. They looked almost exactly the same as each other, meaning they were obviously twins, which humanized them a bit too much for Max's liking.

"Stinky and nasty." The other ram nodded, which he found ironic. He couldn't stand the smells in this locker room. Max then turned his focus back to the mission at hand, he had to find Cain. He didn't think it would be very hard to find him, Cain wasn't exactly the type of person to blend in.

"Yeah yeah ladies, I know, you love me." He heard a cocky voice laugh loudly, and he immediately shot his head in the direction it had come from. He saw the fighter, a cocky and lustful expression filling his face as he looked at a few human girls who seemed to be losing their minds over him. What did they see in him of all people.

"Cain can-can- can we please have your autograph?" One of the girls, who was wearing extremely tight clothing that showed off her body, asked.

"You have a pen?" Cain asked, with a wide grin as he looked over the girl who had asked him. She was quite large in the chest, and she had no problem showing it off.

"Yes yes!" The girls all said together, fighting over which one would be the one to give him the pen. It turned out to be the very girl who had asked him. Cain pulled the cap off of the marker then looked the pale girl right in the eyes.

"Who should I make this out to huh?" He said with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Lucy." She smiled wholeheartedly holding out a poster for the tournament, but Cain had absolutely no intention of signing that. He quickly zoomed in, and put the marker to the top of her mostly exposed right breast, then began signing. She was absolutely flustered at first not being able to move, but then she quickly regained her composure and slapped him directly in the face.

"You filthy perv!" She huffed and puffed, then began walking away with the other girls.

"What do yah mean! You had them all out, what else is a guy supposed to do!" Cain asked in an angry yet defeated tone.()

Cain then sighed and sat down on one of the benches, by himself in this small square section of lockers. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out what looked to be a photo of someone, but Max wasn't close enough to see who it was.

"Whos that boy. Someone you care about?" A soft voice came from the end of this locker area, just below Max. He glanced down and saw a demon, with pure blue skin and fiery red eyes. He had seen this person before, in the battle royale, but he hadn't thought much of him. By Cain's reaction however, this person definitely didn't make Cain happy.

"What the hell do yah want Rota?" Cain growled in anger, standing up and quickly pocketing whatever picture he had been holding.

"Oh? Why so testy Leoheart?" The person Cain had called Rota said in a very cocky tone, even more so than Cain. Max noticed he was dressed in a perfect sun colored suit, which was oddly bright for clothing.

"You don't have the right to ask me why I'm so testy, your the one who didn't hold up your end of the bargain. You're lucky I didn't turn you into Ogre meat!" Cain yelled, pulling his fists up as if he were ready to attack Rota.

"Don't burst a blood vessel now, I told you I needed some time. You will get what you requested once you do one last thing." Rota sighed, looking up at Cain with a serious expression.

"You got nerve asking me for anything else after your own fai-" Cain started to say but Rota held his hand up, indicating he should stop.

"Listen I understand sir Leoheart, I did not hold up my end of the bargain when you wanted. However for me to hold up my end, I need more. I need you to kill Garth, the Champion, and take the prize. That means actually winning this time."

"I always win, whaddya talking about?" Cain questioned, both angry and cocky at the same time. Both of these two seemed extremely suspicious, but Max was leaning more towards this Cain being the Dark Element's new conduit. He knew the Dark Element prayed on the weak of mind, the people hurt by the very society they existed in.

This made Cain the perfect conduit.

"You don't always win Cain Leoheart, but I cannot deny you are more powerful than anyone I have seen so far. I'm sure your ego won't let you leave until you beat the champion, so I think this qualifies as a win-win." Rota said, bowing towards Cain.

"You know that sounded oddly like a insult, but I'll ignore it, cause I do wanna knock that stupid dragon smile offa Garth's face." He said with a grin, sitting down, then looking back up at Rota. "You just betta not be playing games with me Rota, if you promise you'll get him back, you better do it. That or-"

"Yes yes Cain, you'll tear me into little tiny shreds if I don't. I've heard it a thousand times before." Rota smiled slightly, then bowed once more, exiting back into the darkness of the edges of the locker rooms.

Max's gut was going crazy trying to alert him that what he had just seen was extremely dangerous. He knew Cain was a serious threat, and everything to him screamed Dark Element. From the way he acted, to the way he had been talking to that Rota person, this was all the signs.

And he knew he had to get back to the seats he and Monica had and tell her all about it, they had finally located the Dark Element, once again. As he ran towards their seats, he hoped that Monica was doing alright, she had a much, much harder task at hand.

And Monica felt the exact same way.()

Gone, however, was the Monica that Max knew. Instead, her physical form had been replaced with that of a giant rat, with a large club in the tail to her rear. This wasn't her ideal form at all, in fact it disgusted her that it had come down to this, but for the good of the world, she knew it was necessary. She entered the locker rooms thought the side door, on the outside of the coliseum, and was greeted with a disgusting amalgamation of smells.

"Ew." Monica muttered in her rat form, which hid her voice just as good as it had changed her physical form. The locker room, while normally dark and dull to normal eyes, was seen perfectly by Monica. Her rat form had a sense of smell better than that of any other monster form she had, meaning she could basically see with her nose.

"Stinky and nasty." A monster said somewhere to her far, far right. However, as much as she could hear these monsters, and much of the other sounds in the large locker room, she wasn't actually listening at all. Instead, she was more focused on finding this yellowed haired fighter. The moment she had seen him, a weird sense of familiarity had filled her mind, as if she had met this person once before, but she simply couldn't remember where. She figured that if she got closer, she could figure out who it was, as well as completing her more important mission.

Figuring out if this person was connected to the Dark Element.

To her, alot of the signs pointed to this person. He seemed powerful, extremely powerful, but also extremely weakened. Monica knew that the Dark Element hadn't been back for very long, and wherever he was, she couldn't imagine he was very strong. Not to mention the odd feeling she had gotten, like he had used the Atlamelia. All of these facts pointed the finger at the yellowed haired fighter for Monica, and she was determined to figure out why.

"Move." Someone growled behind her, slamming into her shoulder and causing her to drop her large club. She glanced over and saw a female ogre, who was about seven feet tall. She had green skin and an extremely muscular body, but unlike most trolls, her face was more human than monster. Other than the horns coming out of her head and her green skin, she could have easily passed for a human.

This was Morya, the woman who had just had her husband killed by the very fighter Monica was looking for, and Monica was thankful for this coincidence.()

She didn't immediately start following her, but rather walked slowly, keeping track of where she was going. They walked through the twists and turns of the locker room, passing some of the right finale fighters, along with other random monsters that seemed to be hanging around with them. It seemed that this woman knew exactly where she was going though, as she made no stops or even hesitation in her movements.

They eventually made it to the very far left side of the locker room, in the corner, where it was dark and dingy beyond belief. No monsters we're here, in fact not even mere bugs or insects we're here, it was a completely barren part of the locker rooms, however, it seemed one person didn't get that memo. Sitting on one of the benches under the single light in this area, was the yellow haired fighter than Monica had been looking for, and apparently so had the half-ogre.

"You." The ogre growled, getting the attention of the fighter sitting on the bench. As he looked up, it was clear however, that this person was not in good shape at all. Bags took place under both of his eyes, he had a large cut on his left cheek that seemed to be slowly bleeding, and the look in his eyes was of pure exhaustion.

"Oh great, not now." She heard the guy mutter as she ducked behind a few lockers, peeking over the side in hopes that the darkness would mask her as she watched the scene unfold.

"You are going to pay for what you did!" The ogre shouted, running at him, her muscles bulging as she did. She was going to try to rip him to pieces with all of her might. Suddenly, however, he simply just disappeared and ended up behind her, leaning on one of the lockers as she slammed into the bench, empty handed.

"It was Morya right?" He asked, sounding like he was slightly out of breath. Monica, now that his back was to her, she could see that his shirt looked to have small holes peppered throughout the back, as if he had been hit by some sort of shrapnel, yet his skin looked perfectly fine underneath.

"So you have a brain enough to remember my name huh? I'll make sure its the last name you'll ever remember." Morya growled, turning around and glaring daggers at the yellow haired fighter. Monica felt an extreme sense of dejavu as she looked at this person, like she knew them, but she still couldn't figure out why.

"Well you are right about one thing." The fighter said, moving himself from the locker as Morya walked angrily towards him, balling her fists up. Monica knew this wasn't going to be good already, this fighter looked in no shape to handle this. "I won't forget your name."

"What the hell is that supposed to-" Morya asked, but quickly the fighter dropped to one knee, a black sword appearing out of nowhere. He pointed the tip of the sword to the ground, both of his hands resting on the hilt.

"Deepest apologies, fair lady. I was simply fighting for my very life, I didn't want his death any more than you did, but had I not done what I have done, I surely would have been killed. I ask not for forgiveness, but for you to think about the family I have as well." The fighter said, very oddly. His head was bent towards his sword, and his words seemed extremely sincere, yet for some reason Monica got an odd feeling from it. Whoever this person was, he was nothing like anyone she had met before. One minute he was acting all confident, the next moment he was giving up.

For a moment, the only sound for Monica was her own thoughts, as Morya had stopped in place. She seemed to be battling back an emotion of remorse, trying her best to stay angry, however it didn't seem to be working all that well at all. The fighter looked up at Morya, and then spoke once again.

"I'm sure we will meet in battle, if that makes you feel any better. I ask you to spare me now." He said, then stood up, his sword disappearing once again, and Monica noticed that a similar color ring had appeared on his right hand. "We are one of the eight, and I'm sure that announcer saw the tension between us. I have no doubt we will fight during this tournament."

"You are right." Morya spoke, steeling her face, and trying her best to find an angry tone of voice. "And during our battle, I will make sure you suffer a thousand pains."

"So be it." The fighter said, bowing slightly, then moving next to the locker. "I look forward to our fight, Morya."

Morya however didn't say another word, and instead she began walking towards Monica, who was standing near the exit of this small locker room area. She quickly ducked into the darkness, trying to make herself as small as possible, letting Morya pass. As Morya disappeared deeper into the locker room, Monica let out a small breath. She couldn't believe that she hadn't be caught this time, but she had gotten a bit closer to this fighter, and felt that power that he held.

There was no doubt in her mind, when he had moved, it was a power similar to that of the atlamelia. She could feel it in her very being. Suddenly, however, she felt this power once again in her gut, and almost immediately, the very fighter she had been thinking about appeared on the bench in front of her, breathing slightly heavily.

"Is this what you typically do? Spy on people's conversations?" The person asked, his face turning up towards her. While she couldn't see the details of his face in the darkness, she could see his eyes glowing slightly yellow.

"I-uh, I-" Monica started to say as he stood up, standing taller than her at about 6 feet, while she was only probably 5'9 in her rat form.

"I mean, I suppose it makes sense." The fighter shrugged. "Though I don't think you were working for Morya, she seemed way to angry to call for help, so why were you spying on us?"

"A human like you had no right to question me." Monica spouted out, trying to act aggressive towards this person, but the truth was that she was very confused at this point. This person was getting more and more familiar by the passing second. His voice sounded so...safe? But she couldn't figure out why it was that way.

"Right, I forgot how things work here." He said, turning away from her and walking out a few feet away from her. "But whichever fighter you working for, make sure they don't go underestimating me because of what I've said."

"What are you-" Monica started to ask but just as she tried to, he turned to look at her, and she could finally see the detail of his face in the light.

Then it clicked in her head.

The strong jawline, the sharp eyes, the smoothness of his skin. She did know this person, and she couldn't believe her eyes. This was Alexander Zeno, the guy she had grown up with, who had disappeared when they were 12. She absolutely couldn't say anything, but she really didn't have to, because after a few seconds, he simply vanished, with that feeling of the atlamelia once again returning.

Monica however didn't move, in fact her sheer surprise almost made her lose her monster form. How could he be here? She had searched for him far and wide during the journey she and Max had taken all those years ago, however there was no doubt about it, this was him. She couldn't fathom any of this, but she knew she didn't have much time to think about it right now, she quickly regained her composure, and ran for the exit once again, deciding that maybe it was best to keep this revelation to herself for now.

_Loading…._

_File access granted._

_New log loading_

"_Interesting, a new log? I suppose things have been quite busy haven't they Alexander Zeno?" The voice contained in darkness questioned with a small laugh. _

_As Monica met the very person she had tried her hardest to forget about, Alexander looked upon her as if he knew nothing about her. Will she reveal herself? Will she let this memory fade? Find out on the next chapter of Talismans of Time_

_CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS_

"_Why of course, it matters not what she does, for things have certainly changed." The voice spoke, as a small light began blinking on his left arm._


	5. The Battle

"Aaaaaaaaand we are back from our break!" The announcer yelled loudly to the packed crowd of the tournament. The announcer, with his yellow skin and devilish grin, stood in the center of the battle area, which had been cleaned and cleared from the Battle Royale. The announcer spun around slightly, with extreme amounts of dramatics, levitating into the air slightly as he did. "Did all of you miss me? I certainly hope you did. Because I missed all of you, especially the ones tunning in at home."

The announcer then slowly stopped his spin, and winked at a camera that was pointed at him. The entire crowd cheered, shouted, and banged their various possessions against the ground, making for one of the loudest noises yet.

"Very good, my monster brethren, I am most satisfied by this display of affection." The announcer said, bowing backwards, a look of pure Bliss present on his face as he spun slowly in the air once again.

Meanwhile, in the crowd, both Max and Monica had almost simultaneously arrived back where their seats were, both looking trouble yet successful at the same time.

"I think I know who The Dark Element is." They both said to each other extremely quickly as they say down, then looking at each other extremely confused.

"It's Cain." Max said defiantly. He thought back to his time viewing Cain, and as he had been running back, it was all but cemented in his mind that Cain was The Dark Element, it all just added up.

"It's the yellow haired fighter." Monica protested. Similar to Max, she too had given this question a lot of thought on her way back, and it all seemed to point Alexander, if it even was him. The way he was severely weakened, the way he seemed to be able to twist words, and his manipulation over the atlamillia. She believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that The Dark Element had taken over Alexander.()

"No, Monica you don't understand. The way Cain was acting, the way he was talking, it's just how the Dark Element would! Plus, not to mention, his magic…" Max explained back, trying to keep his voice low as there were monsters all around them. Monica shook her head, her robes back on her as she stared out at the announcer who was loving every bit of attention he was getting.

"Max, you don't understand, I felt the Altamillia energy twice when I observed the yellow haired fighter. Not to mention, Crest said The Dark Element had just returned. After we defeated him he must be weakened, well that's exactly what the fighter seemed to be. Weakened." Monica explained back, making Max out a hand to his chin. This was all extremely confusing, even after observing them, neither one seemed to be more convincing, in fact it had just seemed to make both of the candidates appear more guilty.

"OOOOOOOOKAY AUDIENCE!" The announcer boomed. He smiled at the crowd once more, though his eyes seemed to be clouded in darkness. "We have quite the battle coming up for you, we will now begin the bracket rounds!"

The announcer waiting for a moment as everyone clapped their hands, tails, and weapons.

"Our first match, chosen completely at random, is quite the doozy if I must say so myself. You love him, you accept him as one of our own, it's. NINJA SHIRO!" The announcer boomed once again, and the crowd went wild. Walking out from the fighters area was an older man, probably in his 60's, wearing a pure black ninja robe, and holding what looked to be two long knives.()

"Yes, our great between fighter, Shiro, will go up against a newbie. You hate him, you love to hate him, and you hope nothing but hate follows him. It is the fighter CAIN LEOHART!" The announcer laughed, and the crowd then booed extremely loudly as the smiling Cain walked our from the fighter area. He seemed cocky, and was arrogantly winking and holding his arms up as if the entire crowd was cheering for him.

"How cocky can you get?" Monica asked as she observed him, leaning back into her chair as she did. Even though Max seemed sure that Cain was The Dark Elements new form, she just couldn't help but disbelieve it. He didn't act like Griffon had, nor did he act like The Dark Element. Max however, was thinking just the opposite.

"Simmer down, simmer down." The announcer said, referring to the crowd. He then looked to the two fighters, who had taken their places on opposite sides of the battlefield. "Now of course, to all those new folks joining us, we have rules. Yes, yes I know, but without rules, then it would just be slaughter… then we would have no audience."

The glint of violence that had formed on the announcers face was truly a terrifying sight.

"Of course, to win the fight, the fighters must incapacitate the other. Whether that be by knockout, by death, or by giving up." The announcer spoke, then his yellow colored irises glowed from inside the darkness that seemed to veil his eyes, malace filling his gaze. "But you two won't give up will you?"

"Ha, that's hilarious, I never give up yellow man." Cain laughed, as if he was completely confident in winning this fight.

"Is that so?" The announcer smiled broadly, looking towards Shiro, who was staying completely quiet. His blue eyes were locked on Cain, as if he were studying his opponent. "Well then without further ado, shall we let the fight begin?"

"Yeah! I've been waiting to beat the shit out of someone, one on one style." Cain said flexing his right bicep as he grinned at Shiro. "Don't worry old guy, I won't beat yah up too bad now."

"You are quite confident for someone so young. Let us see how well you do." Shiro spoke softly, his eyes still locked on Cain. Cain laughed loudly again, flexing his other arm as the announcer floated up effortlessly into the sky, hovering over towards his chair, and landing completely normally next to Garth, who looked rather bored as his pure red eyes bore into Cain.

"Now. Fighters. READY YOUR WEAPONS!" The announcer yelled holding one of his hands up. Shiro then bent down in a defensive position, with his two long knives held out. Cain however didn't move a single muscle and just continue to grin.

"That's all you brought? And they call you some sort of champion?" Cain mocked loudly, getting a boo from the crowd.

"Kill him Shiro!" Someone shouted from the crowd, only making Cain laugh. He was determined not to lose this fight. Meanwhile, back on the stands, both Max and Monica knew this would be the time to truly observe and see if Cain was The Dark Element.

"Now. BEGIN THE FIGHT!" The announcer shouted, throwing his hand down with a laugh. Cain immediately flung his arms out.

"BLADES OF LIGHT!" Cain shouted, then 3, glowing black blades appeared above his head. Cain then threw his hands forward and all three blades went flying at the older man. However, before the blades could hit, Shiro suddenly disappeared into nothingness, making the blades sail right past where he had been standing, and embedding themselves into the wall behind. "Wait what in the-"

Suddenly Cain was knocked to the side, with a sharp pain filling his side. He stumbled, but tried to throw a punch in the direction it had come from, only to meet nothing but air. Cain glanced over and saw nothing, what had hit him? As he regained his balance, he put his fists up and glanced around, still not seeing Shiro at all.

"It seems Cain Leohart hadn't done any research on his possible opponents, unlike the mastermind Shiro. Second only to Garth, it seems this will be the end of Cain Leoharts short time here." The announcer cooed as he bent over the side of the railing, his face pointed towards Cain.

"Shut up yellow man!" Cain shouted, this time feeling a cut appear on his right arm, making blood gush onto the dirt ground. Cain couldn't process what was going on, he hadn't seen Shiro attack at all, but yet he had been injured. He tried to look on the far side of the arena, thinking maybe he had left it, but suddenly, he felt a strong punch land directly into his nose, knocking him off of his feet.()

"Ah ooo Cain is knocked to the ground. Will he figure out how Shiro is attacking him in time? Or will Shiro take his rightful place in the semi-finals?" The announcer cooed once again as he watched, the crowd cheering Shiro on. Cain held his nose, which had started bleeding and looked up to where he had been punched, no surprisingly seeing absolutely nothing. He glanced to the ground, to the dirt, and noticed two freshly made footprints, but Shiro hadn't even been next to him, so how had-

Pain shot through Cain's stomach, and he began coughing, he had been kicked hard in the stomach.

"You little ass." Cain growled. He then flung one arm into the air, and one Blade of Light appeared in his hand. He threw it towards the direction he had been kicked in, but once again, the blade simply went flying, never hitting Shiro. Cain quickly stood up and back himself up against the wall, maybe this way he could at least see where the attack was coming from.

"Cain Leohart tries the old tactic many opponents of Shiro have tried, leading him directly into the same trap." The announcer laughs, making Cain bite his lip. Cain then pushes both hands out and a wall of glowing black light forms in front of him, and in good time. Suddenly a knife appeared out of nowhere, slamming into the wall of black light, and clattering to the ground. Cain recognized this as one of Shiro's knives. He quickly dissolved the black barrier and summoned two more blades of light, throwing them in the direction the knife had come from, once again unsuccessful.

Then, from his right side, yet another punch slammed him in the head, knocking him to the ground. This punch solidified what Cain had been thinking in his head. Somehow, Shiro was invisible, moving around at his ninja speed. There was no way he could make him come out into visibility without hitting him. He hit the ground hard, cursing at himself, and glancing up. That was when he saw his saving grace.

"You can go invisible all you want Shiro, but I can see through that silly game." Cain smiled, summoning two Blades of Light, then firing them upward.

"And once again, Cain Leohart's Blades of Light attack misses making this the- wait but what is this?" The announcer cried as the Blades hit their target, which was a spherical ball hanging high up at the top of the open colosseum. Immediately the ball exploded, sending down millions of pieces of various colored confetti down onto the entire colosseum. "What's this? Cain Leohart has hit the confetti ball?"

"Yeah that's right!" Cain yelled in triumph, this was all going according to plan. Confusion struck the entire crowd, the announcer, Max and Monica, and apparently Shiro as well. Shiro didn't launch another attack as the pieces of confetti began touching the ground. This however, gave Cain a serious edge, as the pieces of confetti that landed on Shiro didn't disappear, and now, in the rain of confetti, he could see Shiro's outline. "Take this!"

Cain ran forward, his fist collecting the same black light as his Blades, and he threw his fist hard into where Shiro's silhouette was, sending a shockwave into the confetti, and breaking Shiro's invisibility. Shiro went flying back, slamming hard into the cement walls of the battlefield.

"Whats this? Cain used the distraction of the confetti to find Shiro? What an incredible move!" The announcer yelled in excitement, and even the monsters in the audience seemed to be surprised as well. It was truly something no one expected. Cain glanced to the other end of the battlefield, breathing heavily, and noticing that Shiro wasn't moving at all. He walked slowly, holding his arm, towards Shiro's lifeless form.

"Oh no, he's going to finish him off, we have to do something Monica." Max hissed in Monica's ear. "You saw what he did, only the Dark Element would have used something like that. He's going to kill Shiro."

"I'm not so sure Max, he doesn't look like he's full of malice." Monica said, unsure of her own words. It couldn't be denied that this Cain person had a lot of power, in fact it was simply amazing how much power he possessed, but she just couldn't believe it was Cain.

"Fighter Cain seemed to be moving towards Shiro. Is he intending on finishing what he started?" The announcer cried, making the crowd go silent in anticipation. As Cain got closer to Shiro, Max pulled out the LEGEND hammer from his belt, which was seriously terrifying to be on the other end of.

However, contrary to everyone else's beliefs, Cain simply bent down next to Shiro and tried to pick him up.

"C'mon, get up, we had a good fight. I don't want to kill you." Cain said quietly, to the point that no one else but Shiro could hear him. Shiro looked up weakly, and smiled at Cain.

"Don't worry kid, you did great. I think this is the battle I retire after. I thought maybe I could get through and beat Garth, that mob boss needs someone to teach him a lesson." Shiro spoke softly, his blue eyes staring happily into Cains eyes. "Just promise me you'll beat the shit out of Garth."

"It was already in the plans." Cain nodded then stood up slowly, raising his hands in the air. "I won jackasses, yeah bet you stupid monsters didn't expect that one huh? Thats right baby, Cain Leohart is going to Semifinals, and there ain't nothin you can do about it."

The entire crowd then began booing.

"It seems, in a large upset, Cain Leohart has beaten the incredible Ninja Shiro. Though Ninja Shiro is not dead, he has been prevented from fighting any further." The announcer said, floating from his chair, and landing softly next to Shiro, surrounding him with a yellow light. Shiro then began floating back into the fighters locker rooms, disappearing from the main crowd. "Thus Cain Leohart will advance to the semi finals!"

"Bullshit!" A number of monsters yelled in protest of Cain's victory, but all Cain did was send them smiles and flexes. It appeared Cain had lost his seriousness once again, and was going back to his normal cocky and goofy personality.

"I think you may have been right Monica, there's no way Cain is The Dark Element, if he was...he would have killed Shiro." Max admitted, glancing towards Monica, who was breathing a sigh of relief.

"Its fine, this just means it's for sure the yellow haired fighter, there's no question about it." Monica said softly, looking towards where the fighter locker room was with a steeled expression. She really had hoped something could have proved her wrong, but now it seemed she would have to fight her childhood friend, which was going to break her heart.()

"Now the next battle is going to be filled with even more blood and gore, for the infamous Morya will fight in the next battle!" The announcer yelled, and just as he did, the green skin ogre walked out onto the battlefield, look angry as ever. She also held a large two handed axe this time, trading out the weapons she had used before. The axe looked to be made of steel, but was glowing ever so slightly blue, indicating it had been enchanted. She held it in one of her hands, near the middle, showing off just how strong she was. "Her opponent? He will be none other than the person that killed her husband during the battle royale. He comes to use from far away, with only the name of...Zinex!"

With that the yellowed haired fighter than Monica knew as Alexander Zeno, walked out onto the field, completely unarmed, and his clothing still containing holes in it. He seemed to have recovered as best as he could from the battle royale, the bags under his eyes almost gone completely, and he took position on the other side of Morya, who was glaring at him with the eyes of a murderer.

This was going to be a battle to behold, and Max and Monica were ready. They stared at the person they believed to be The Dark Element, and readied themselves for whatever was about to happen.

This wasn't going to be pretty.

_Access code accepted_

_Loading information about Alexander Zeno_

_The Defector. Power: Manipulation over lightning, as well as an unknown form of time manipulation. Was once referred to as the savior, but was banished by Lady Creation. Nothing else can be gained from the search._

"Interesting...nothing huh? Well I suppose I will just have to keep watching." The voice shrouded in darkness muttered as it sat forward, looking into what looked to be a holographic visual of the Tournament of Power. "What are you hiding Alexander Zeno?"


	6. Humanity

"The most anticipated battle since the battle Royale is upon us, dear audience!" The announcer shouted with a wild grin on his face. His yellow skin, combined with his pinstripe suit, made Alex extremely nervous. There was something about this announcer that just put him off, and he didn't like it at all. He almost, for a moment, asked Artemis to scan this guy, but of course, Artemis was gone.

And the pain of that still hit him hard in the heart.

He hadn't been alone on his journey, that felt like it had been years long. From around the time that he had begun this journey, Artemis had been by his side, but now, he felt utterly lost in a sea of a million things. It was as if the entire world around him was flying past him, and not even his power could help him fix that.

He looked over at the woman he was supposed to be fighting, the one he would have to fight, and another pang of guilt tripped up his heart. This was the face of a woman who had lost so much in such a short amount of time, and he was the one who had dealt her this fate. How horrible could he have been to so cruelly kill her husband without remorse.

No, he had to do it, if he hadn't he surely would have been killed himself. It was survival of the fittest after all, that was the ultimate rule of life.

"But who will win this ultimate battle? Who knows? Will Morya get her revenge? Or will Zinex finish what he started? Find out right now." The announcer cooed evilly, as his face turned towards Alex. He couldn't see the announcers eyes from beneath the shadows around his eyes, but somehow, he could feel the announcer looking directly into his soul, as if he could see right through him. The announcer then laughed loudly, and flew up into the air, moving back towards his seat, and landing softly. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? FIGHT!"

"Time to pay retribution human!" Morya shouted as loudly as she possibly could, and with a shout and cheer from the audience, she was filled with extreme confidence. She knew she was stronger than this tiny human. She was more muscular, half a foot taller, and she felt she was way more well trained in combat. He had won before out of sheer luck and surprise in regards to his powers. There was no doubt he would lose here, and she would regain the honor her half Ogre, half Orc pride. She vaulted forward, brandishing her slightly glowing blue war axe, and slamming down as hard as she could on Zinex, who hadn't moved at all. She was less than an inch from hitting him, when he simply vanished.

"I really didn't think this trick would work again." A voice muttered from behind her. Before she could turn around however, she felt a strong in her back, throwing her forward. She stumbled for a bit but quickly spun around to see Zinex, completely unarmed, with his fists up.

"Won't you draw your weapon human!?" Morya shouted at the fighter, who stayed still. "Where is your honor?"

"Gone." Zinex smiled softly, then lightning began to coalesce around his hands, covering them completely in yellow electricity. He turned his gaze towards Morya's eyes, and she could see that his eyes were glowing slightly brighter.

"Annnnnnnd once again Fighter Zinex has revealed to use his wonderful use of lightning magic! Though it's a bit of a weird color, since when is lightning yellow?" The announcer cooed in a weird way, as if genuinely confused.

"Everytime." Zinex smiled, shaking his head. "So are we going to fight or are you just going to stand there and shout about honor?"

"If it's a battle of the fists you want…" Morya spoke, closing her eyes and throwing her war axe, then standing in a very aggressive fighting stance. Her muscles flexed as she moved, showing just how strong she was. "Then I promise to break every bone in your pathetic body."

"What's this folks, Morya's being surrounded by a blue energy? What could this be? Oh how this just gets more and more interesting." The announcer cooed once again, as if he could barely contain the excitement that was deep within him. Blue wisping light then began concentrating around Morya's arms, looking as if two ghosts were stationed at her arms, and thus Morya felt even more energized, and more powerful.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with tricks up their sleeves." Zinex laughed, then moved into a defensive position, watching Morya extremely carefully. Morya merely huffed at his weakness. Only a child would take such a position, she could easily see that his legs were off balance, that his hands were way too low to protect his face, and thus she saw her opportunity plain and clear.

She rushed forward, her armor clanging and banging together as she ran. She pulled one of her arms back as a decoy, as she had practiced many times before. The opponent would think to move their hand up to their face, as her fist was raised high, but what they didn't realize was that her other fist was headed straight for their stomach, which would immediately drop them to the ground, giving her the opening to destroy them.

However, this plan ended much like her previous plan had ended.

"One minute has passed." Zinex smiled, then disappeared right from where he was standing, and Morya's punch simply hit thin air. For a split second she was confused, but she knew she had no time for curiosity. She spun around and threw her strong, right arm out, slamming into the guard of Zinex, who had now ended up behind her. He grunted heavily, and slid back a few feet, but he didn't fall over. "Impressive."

"Your tricks are nothing to me human." Morya growled then lunged forward, seeing that he was still recovering from her punch. She meant to pull off the very same trick she had tried before, and he seemed like he was falling for it, that is until one of his hands shot down and he caught her left arm with his left, and her right arm with his right, before either one hit their targets. Sparks blasted out around Morya's hand, and she was lucky that the blue light energy was protecting her. The lightly began spark up and slamming into the blue light, as if the very energies themselves were having a battle.

Morya was surprised at first, but her training as a ferocious warrior quickly fought those feelings back. She dug her toes into the ground and pushed against his grip, forcing him to start moving back. This was a test of true, outright strength, and Zinex was not a match for Morya in this category.

"You're...strong...I'll give you that." Zinex grunted while trying to push against Morya, but to her, he was but a teenager. Granted he was doing better than most humans would at this point, but it still was not enough.

"I'll break those puny arms boy." Morya growled as Zinex's back hit the wall and his arms were forced outward by Morya's strength. He tried to struggle out but she kneed him in the gut, causing him to cough up instantly. "You made it here with nothing but luck human, now this is for my husband."

"Not yet." Zinex grunted as lightning exploded around him, knocking Morya directly off her feet and sending her flying back. Everything from that point turned into a blur, even when she hit the ground. Partially due to the shock of the explosion, and partially because of the dust it had churned up. Morya groaned as she pulled herself from the ground, looking back up to where she assumed Zinex was.

"Amazing! As if Zeus himself had commanded it, a giant lightning bolt tore right from the clouds and saved Zinex's life, a truly remarkable display of power!" The announcer's voice boomed through the dust that was kicked up from the lightning bolt.

"Dishonorable fighter." Morya growled as she spit blood from her mouth into the dirt. All she could taste was iron, but as she looked down, she hadn't taken much damage, thanks to the magic she had produced. She quickly extended her arms, and the blue light began forming around her arms, she couldn't just waste this gift given to her directly by the gods, she only had one more use after this for the day. She had to save the last for killing Garr, the ugly dragon who had done more to destroy her life than the very human she was fighting had.

Then she felt a fist slam directly into her face, with no warning. This was her first direct view of whatever power he was using. It was as if he had simply always been standing in front of her, but yet she knew he hadn't. She also recognized that he had already had time to pull his fist back, but more importantly, she noticed he had made no disturbance to the dust behind.

This was truly something she had never dealt with before.

"Arggg." She yelled as he head cocked back from the punch, but she wasn't a warrior for no reason, she shot her hand and grabbed Zinex by the throat, hearing a satisfying gurgling sound as she pulled her head back, feeling her nose bleeding heavily. Zinex's hands immediately went to her hand however, and a jolt of electricity shot through her, making her instinctively let go.

She quickly recovered however and threw another punch at his face, which was blocked by his forearm, making him hiss in pain. This filled Morya's soul with pride, and she fired her fist towards him again, but this time he sidestepped and punched at Morya's face, only to have his wrist be grabbed midair, and twisted to the side. He quickly closed his fist until only two fingers pointed directly at Morya's chest, and then a small lightning bolt fired right into her chest plate, making her slide back and lose grip of Zinex.

"Stop that!" Morya yelled as she shot her fist forward, pooling all of the blue light into one fist, which collided directly with his chest.

And the sound that followed was truly earsplitting.

Zinex was instantaneously blow back, with a loud grunt, as he flew directly into one of the battlefields walls. A loud crack could be heard from around that area as he slumped onto the dirt groundz just as the dirt that was flying around settled.

Morya was breathing heavy, she hadn't concentrated that much magic together in a very long time, and she knew this was the reason why, it took a lot of Mana from her. She gathered herself, then began to walk towards the motionless body of Zinex, whose blood stained not only the wall but the ground as well.

"You are but a dishonorable fighter Zinex!" Morya yelled, feeling her anger return. "You use petty tricks and tactics to win, and that is why you lost."

"Aaaaaaaaand Zinex is down, it seemed in the cloud of dust and debris, fighter Morya delivered a strong magical blow to Zinex, causing him to be nearly incapacitated!" The announcer boomed as he leaned against the rail, watching Morya approach Zinex as closely as he could.

That is, until Zinex disappeared one more time.

"How dare y-" Morya started to say but a fist slammed into the back of her head, sending her stumbling forward. As she glanced back she saw a look of pure seriousness on Zinex's face, as she hadn't seen before. "Those cheap tricks a-"

"This is a tournament of power." Zinex spoke coldly as he put his hands down, lightning then sparking around his body. "The whole point is to use your powers."

With that Zinex lunged forward.

Morya simply couldn't understand how he had recovered so quickly. She was sure that his injuries were serious, bringing him extremely close to death, but here he was lunging at her with serious intent. She quickly put her guard up and prepared herself. She had no magic left, but she still had her extreme combat training, and she wasn't going to let it go to waste.

She quickly backed up as Zinex threw a punch, then delivered one back. Zinex grabbed her hand midair, pulled her close, then kicked her directly in the chest, sending a shock through her body as she slid back.

"Is that warrior enough?" Zinex questioned as he stalked towards her, none of his guards up.

"You fight like a child, which is why I will put you in your place." Morya growled as she regained her balance then looked up at Zinex with murderous intent. This was the man who had killed her husband, and although her and her husband had never been the best, this man had taken away any hope for things to change.

This was her duty as a wife, and as a warrior.

But for Alex, this wasn't his duty at all. He knew that he had to give his all if he didn't want to be killed at the hands of Morya. He knew she had every right to want to kill him, but he also knew he had to defend himself if he were to get his answers. He knew, however, he didn't have much time.

"Let's end this then." Alex spoke loudly, stopping his walk, and putting his hands up, just as his old friend had taught him. He felt the lightning barrier around him spark and start fading, he was running out of power very quickly.()

"Both fighters! Tired and nearly running out of energy, look at each other with sheer determination, the sheer knowledge that the other might win just burns at their souls! Who will prevail? The human no one knows of, or the great fighter Morya?" The announcer questioned for the ground, and himself. Alex however, was not focused on the announcer at all, but rather was focusing on blocked a punch thrown his way by Morya.

He knocked her fist to the side, trying to punch her face once again, but she quickly grabbed his fist then went for a knee at his gut. He focused all the lightning that was left around him into the space where she was going to hit. Her leg connected with the electricity and she let out a loud yell of pain, and she quickly dropped to the ground, letting Alex back up.

"Bastard." Morya growled as she picked herself up from off of the ground, her knee burned beneath her clothing and armor. She then jumped forward, this time taking care to watch where the lightning was on his body. She threw a punch at his neck, but he slid back faster than she could land her punch, then moved to the side, slamming his fist into her shoulder. "Puny human."

"Fuck." He muttered as she back handed him with the very arm he had just punched. He stumbled back and Morya saw her chance. She threw a fist forward, but Alex already knew that it was coming. "Stop!"

Then once again, just as it had many times before, time had come to a grinding halt. The silence as Alex regained his balance was nice to hear, one didn't truly understand how loud the world was until it all stopped. With that, one second had passed.

Alex then glanced up at Morya, seeing her fist extended out, and her mouth open in a yell. It seemed every muscle in her body was flexed in pure anger. Thus two seconds had passed.

Alex then took two steps to the right as he took a few deep breathes, trying to gain a bit of energy back. He knew without a doubt that he couldn't use any more lightning without endangering his own life, so he had to think if a different way of approaching this. Thus, four seconds had passed since time had stopped.

He entertained the idea of using his sword, to at least knock her out, but he felt a pang of guilt in his heart. She was unarmed, with only her fists. She had respected his wish to use fists only, the least he could do was fufill that promise. Thus 5 seconds had passed.

He then moved to her right side, knowing well enough that an attack from the back was exactly what she would expect the moment she saw him disappear. This would be the action he would have to take. Thus 8 seconds had passed.

He then moved his stance into an aggressive one, pulling his arm back and readying himself for his attack. He had to make this count as he knew that without his lightning barrier, she would without a doubt destroy him. Thus 10 seconds had passed, and the world came back to life with all it's normal sounds and movements. ()

Alex threw his fist out, with all of his strength, and for the first time in the battle it seemed to work out perfectly for him. His fist connected hard with Morya's head, throwing her clean to the ground, but also putting some serious pain in Alex's hand. He seethed in pain as he brought his hand back to his chest, feeling blood running down his knuckles as he glanced over towards Morya.

Morya was in a pure daze. The hit she had endured from Alex had truly been one to rival her own, and with that her world was but a blur. She felt the solid ground moving and twisting, as she held onto her consciousness with every shred of her being. She couldn't fail now, she refused to lose to this pitiful human. She tried to pick herself up off of the ground, but her muscles simply wouldn't respond, her exhaustion had finally caught up with her.

However, suddenly, the world began to focus ever so slightly. To her utter dismay, this seemed to be brought upon by the very person she was fighting. He had grabbed her arm and was trying to pick her up, but it seemed he was just as tired as she was.

"What the hell are you doing human?" Morya questioned angrily. "You have won this battle, finish me off so that I may not have to live with the shame of being beaten by someone so weak."

"I regret killing your husband, I refuse to kill you as well. You got a long life ahead of you, I'll ensure it." Zinex spoke in a matter of fact tone, as she felt energy flow into her body. Whatever he was doing, it was healing her wounds and bringing the world back into clarity.

"That foolish thought will be your demise human." She spat, twisting her arm into a death grip around his neck.

"And it looks like Zinex has made a grave human error in trusting in his opponent not to kill him, what a great opportunity for Morya to seize!" The announcer yelled as the crowd bellowed in happiness. This was the very moment that Morya had been waiting for. The whole crowd cheering. The announcer yelling in happiness. And the man that had killed her husband in her grip, ready to die. Yet, as she glanced down at the fighter, she noticed he didn't seemed to be struggling at all. In fact, it was as if he was allowing it to happen.

For a moment the entire world went quiet to Morya, in fact the entire world stopped entirely. The cheers, the screams, and all of the movements. Time itself had stopped completely.

"What the hell is-" Morya started to question.

"I stopped time." Zinex spoke, slightly choking, Morya, in surprise, loosened her grip. Zinex wiggled out of her grasp, but kept a hand on her forearm.

"Why have you-" Morya started to ask.

"I owe a debt to you that I can never repay back. I took away which was most important to you, and for that I owe you so much." Zinex said with conviction. "However, I need to move further in this tournament, so I ask, in exchange for whatever prize I gain, I shall deliver all the spoils to you."

"You understand nothing, human." Morya growled, but Zinex opened his mouth before she could say anymore.

"We haven't much time left. Something seriously wrong is going on here, I feel it in my gut. Something dark, evil, and destructive is here, waiting for the moment to strike. I told you, I will ensure that you live to a ripe old age, so don't make me force you to give up. Trust me." Zinex urged. How dare he tell her what to do? She was a great fighter, known throughout the lands of the orc and ogres for her great victories. He was but a pitiful human.

"Why should I trust you, human?" She spat angrily. For a moment, it seemed Zinex was searching for a reason, for some way to prove his words.

"A magical pact. I cannot prove to you in words my theories, nor can I prove it to you with physical evidence. The only way I can give you peace of mind, is by soul pact, I'm certain you have it here right?" Zinex questioned, and Morya nodded slowly. This human seemed oddly knowledgeable about magic, which raised more questions in Morya's mind. Morya however, nodded slowly in agreement. She still held extreme anger for this person, but if the spoils of this battle were to go to him, as well as Garr's head on a pike, in addition to his servitude...this was an offer she would be stupid to turn down.

"If you fail, you know the consequences? Correct?" Morya questioned and Zinex nodded gravely. Then suddenly, the world started again, with the sounds blasting into Morya's mind.

"My soul is yours, should I fail. A life of servitude is also yours should I fail, and I will spend the rest of my life ensuring you are safe, should you call. Along with the prize of becoming the champion, directly to you." Zinex spoke, his eyes locked in hers as blue energy surrounded them.

"I accept your conditions, Zinex." Morya spoke, and the blue energy exploded around them, signaling the deal had been struck. He let Morya go and immediately she took a knee. "I yield, O' great announcer!"

"You...yield?" The announcer questioned, a bit confused. "Well as boring as that is, and very very very anticlimactic, and kind of an asshole move...Its not strictly against the rules."

The crowd then began booing.

"Well nonetheless, I pronounce Zinex the winner of this battle. Regrettably." The announcer said, sitting back in his seat, looking extremely annoyed. Suddenly a yellow light surrounded the two fighters, and they were zoomed back into the locker room area.

"He did something, did you see that, they moved positions instantly." Monica pointed out, sitting up in her seat.

"What do you mean? I didn't see anything. That fight looked pretty normal to me, except for the end, that was a little weird." Max said shrugging his shoulders, but he hadn't felt what Monica had felt.

"She was choking him, then suddenly he was holding her arm, escaping from the chokehold way faster than he should have, something happened, I felt it." Monica insisted, and Max put his hand to his chin, thinking deeply.

"This is really weird, I didn't see any malice in Zinex though, he just didn't seem evil at all." Max said shaking his head, and Monica couldn't help but agree. In fact, it seemed as if Zinex was holding back if anything. He hadn't even drawn his sword once. Monica knew this situation was getting weirder and weirder as it went along. One moment Morya is trying to kill Zinex, the next she yields instantly.

Something was seriously off.

_Teaser log Active_

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Next chapter: Duel of Fates.


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